i wasn't really sure where to put this, because it would be out of place in the movie forums, doesn't quite belong in the tv shows on dvd thread, so i figured the only people who would really care are the more technologically knowledgabe (nice euphemism for geek) anyway. so it's in the technology forum

it's no secret, final fantasy 7 has to be my favourite game of all time. i can't quite explain why i love it so much, but i could pick it up today, and have more fun than i would playing most of the ps2/xbox/pc games out atm... so go figure?

anyways, square, or should i say square-enix now, announced AGES ago, that the most popular final fantasy franchise was not dead, and we would be graced with a whole line of new products, on multiple platforms. the first product to be announced was a umd (sony psp disc)/dvd version of a fully animated movie sequel to the original. set years after, scheduled for a direct to dvd release... this out of the blue news sent fans crazy... leading to HEAPS of speculation, many even thinking that they were decieving us, and the movie was actually a fully fledged game sequel.

this was however, not the case, as we learnt that there was more than one final fantasy 7 product. so, to cut a long story short... here's what square-enix told us. [b29]Final Fantasy VII - Advent Children[/b29], would be an animated movie released on dvd. [b29]Final Fantasy VII - Dirge of Cerberus[/b29], would be a fully playable PS2 game. [b29]Final Fantasy VII - Before crisis[/b29], would be a fully playable game released for mobile phones in japan, a prequel to the series focussing on "the turks". [b29]Final Fantasy VII - Crisis Core[/b29], would be a fully playable sequel released on the PSP only.

we knew all this some time ago... since then, i believe before crisis has been released, but the release of the originally announced advent children kept on getting delayed, and delayed and delayed. it was like an alias dvd release but even worse!

so in pops E3... musch of the attention being focussed on microsoft and sony with news about their new consoles. sony unvelied their ps3 for the first time... sending fans crazy with speculation when they showed a fully re-rendered version of the FFVII game intro fmv. apparently, they didn't think they could get in done, but they did amazingly well in approximately 6 weeks, and still were able to say that they could have done much more. was FFVII about to make the migration to the PS3? that's what fans were wondering, until this news of late.

finally, the news we've been waiting more than a year for arrived... a fixed release fate for the release of Final Fantasy VII - Advent Children. to summarise, they're releasing two versions... one a standard DVD version... the other a limited edition UBER PACK... costing... get this... $275 AMERICAN! it includes heaps of stuff, including the DVD, and a copy of the ORIGINAL GAME! talk about a way of getting a PS1 game back in circulation.

so enough of my babbling... here's a few news articles on all the stuff i've discussed.

Date: 10 Jun 2005Posted by: Geostigma The latest issue of Japan's Dengeki PlayStation magazine features a short interview with Square Enix executive producer Yoshinori Kitase. Kitase previously worked on Final Fantasy VII and Final Fantasy X and is now overseeing four titles in the Compilation of Final Fantasy VII series. He also, as revealed in the interview, seems to have a hand in the upcoming PS3 Final Fantasy game.

Kitase is first asked to explain his specific role in the FFVII compilation madness. While he's overseeing all the titles in the series, he states that he has a direct role -- which he refers to as "directly creating data" -- with Dirge of Cerberus for the PS2. He'll also take a direct role in the PSP Crisis Core.Talking a bit about the storyline for Cerberus, Kitase explains that because Vincent, the main character of the game, was an optional character in Final Fantasy VII, much of his background story was left out during the development of that title. He's also a very popular character even today, according to Kitase, which is why he wanted to make a game that properly dealt with him.

Providing a hint of the quality that we can expect from Cerberus, Kitase reveals that the game's event and movie sequences will be at "FF Quality." In terms of volume, we can look forward to something at the level of Final Fantasy X.

The genre for Dirge of Cerberus is "Gun Action RPG." Kitase explains that, as a fan of Half Life, he originally wanted to make the game into a first person shooter. However, his aim was a different kind of FPS. One area of difference involves RPG elements, and while he states that he cannot be too specific at the moment, there will be a command menu that will give an RPG feel to the title. Dengeki asks if you'll be able to select abilities and materia from this menu, and Kitase responds, with a laugh, that it's something like that.

Moving on to Crisis Core, Kitase states that the animation video trailer shown at E3 was meant to give us a sense of the game's world view, with a certain incident from within FFVII serving as the basis for the clip. Square Enix isn't ready to show the game just yet, but Kitase states that we can look forward to action gameplay that will have players hooked. We can also expect a title that makes use of the PSP's special abilities to deliver something that's never been done before.

Before going on to some exciting talk about PlayStation 3, Kitase is asked to comment on what he and his development staff are paying close attention to with the development of the Compilation series as a whole. Kitase mentions the use of voice acting, which will debut for the FFVII series with the DVD release of Advent Children. Square Enix will make use of the same voice actors across all FFVII games. Of particular note are Cloud and Vincent, with Kitase commenting that the two have similar personalities and ended up having similar lines and voices. The development staff had to make sure that, when speaking together, the two did not give the feeling of being the same.

And now, what has most Final Fantasy fans excited -- the move of the series from the current generation to the PlayStation 3. Kitase is first asked to comment on the Final Fantasy VII realtime introduction clip that was shown at the Sony press conference. He reveals that the clip was made just prior to the conference and he, at first, didn't think it could be done. He summoned Koji Sugimoto, the main programmer for Final Fantasy X, and he and his team were able to create the demo in a one and a half month period. According to Kitase, given more time, it would be possible to make a higher quality, better-looking demo. He expresses surprise that, even though they didn't come close to making full use of the PS3 hardware, they were able to get as far as they did.

At the Sony press conference, Square Enix president Yoichi Wada revealed that Final Fantasy will be coming to the PlayStation 3. Questioned about this, Kitase states that he can offer no comment aside from the fact that Final Fantasy is being developed for the system. As a hint, he states that the Final Fantasy VII demo was created with himself as director working with a staff that included Motomu Toriyama, director of Final Fantasy X. He suggests that we imagine something along those lines.

Kitase's closing comments suggest that the PlayStation 3 Final Fantasy game is being developed by some offshoot of the team that created Final Fantasy X. This wouldn't be too surprising, given that Final Fantasy XII is being developed by a group different from those who made FFX and FFX-2.

While details on the PlayStation 3 Final Fantasy are probably a ways off, we expect to learn more about the other Final Fantasy titles at Square Enix's big game event, set to kick off exclusively in Japan on July 30. We will, of course, pass on everything we learn to you.

September 14th will be a big day for all Final Fantasy fans, as Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children will be launching. And now, more details are making themselves known. Today we have information regarding two different releases of the film.

A normal version will be available for Â¥4800 (~45 USD), whilst the limited edition will be available for Â¥29500 (~275 USD). Yes, you read that right. But wait! It comes with all this nifty stuff:

[quote29]FFVII Advent Children Gets Simultaneous Worldwide ReleaseSquare Enix will give us an English version on 9/14, but there's a catch.by Anoop Gantayat May 12, 2005 - Last week, Square Enix revealed a final Japanese release date for Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children: 9/14. Today, we learned some good and bad follow-up news.

First, the good. According to the latest issue of Japan's Shonen Jump magazine, Square Enix plans on releasing the title simultaneously in America and Japan. That's right -- no waiting for an English version! You'll get to enjoy the movie on 9/14, along with the Japanese.Now for the bad news. The magazine only lists the movie as a DVD release. There's no mention of a UMD release. If you were waiting for some kind of Final Fantasy to grace your little black portable number, you might be out of luck.

What this means for a UMD release is unclear, but until Square Enix announces otherwise, plan on picking up Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children on DVD first in mid September.

If you're interested in this game, be sure to add it to your wishlist. You can keep notes, rank games, get updates by email, and more.[/quote29]

[quote29]Final Fantasy VII: AC DatedThe "sequel" we've all been waiting for hits Japan in September.by Anoop Gantayat May 9, 2005 - It seems like we've been waiting for years to see Square Enix's Final Fantasy VII follow-up in full form. Well the wait is at last over. Producer Tetsuya Nomura has announced through the official Shinra Electric Power Company website a final Japanese release date for Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children. Following months of delay, the video-only release will hit Japanese retail on 9/14/2005 carrying a price tag of 4,800 yen. A limited edition version will be released at the same time, with pricing to be announced.

Work on the film seems to be winding down. Nomura reveals that all rendering is complete, and all that's left is the film's audio component. The audio is expected to be finished at the end of May, with synching starting in June, and the final preparations and editing starting in July. Promotions and production will start in August. Nomura promises that there won't be any more delays.Nomura's announcement makes no mention of format for the movie. Square Enix and Sony Computer Entertainment have previously announced Advent Children for release both on UMD and DVD. Should one version arrive before the other, you can be sure we'll report it right here.

We're expecting further news on Advent Children at E3, including some hints on the US release. Stay tuned![/quote29]

[quote29]FFVII Site AdventThe DVD Final Fantasy movie gets a US website ... the pieces are coming together.by Nix April 4, 2005 - We don't need to tell you that the upcoming Final Fantasy movie is must-see entertainment for any fan of the series. Part of a massive rebirth of the legendary FFVII (which has already spawned a few cellphone games, and will soon give rise to PlayStation 2 and PSP spin-offs), Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children has been highly anticipated by its series' devotees for over a year now. The North American release of the DVD (and rumored UMD Video disc) was never in doubt, but it wasn't until the recent opening of the official FFVII Advent Children North American site that we've seen commitment from Square-Enix on its US release.

What we don't have from the site is news on that PSP UMD Video release. The movie was demo'ed early on the PlayStation Portable as a concept release (and was rumored to be a UMD exclusive for a short while), but has since been advertised only as a DVD release. Fine by us for the most part, as the scrumptious CG production will undoubtedly fill up every pixel of any HD screen you can run the DVD on, but we're still interested in seeing a portable version of the film as well if it's still in the cards. As for the site, there's not much that you haven't seen before, though the promise of a solid translation is good enough to recommend a bookmark. All of the features are still marked "Coming Soon", but there is a Flash version of an early trailer in English (that narrator sounds a lot like Martin Sheen, by the by) and with the promise of character bios, downloads, news and more. Hit the link below to visit the site.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------FFVII Advent ChildrenOfficial North American Site --------------------------------------------------------------------------------[/quote29]

here's the american site... [b29]http://na.square-enix.com/dvd/ff7ac/[/b29]

[quote29]Tetsuya Nomura on Final Fantasy VIIThe Square Enix producer shares details on his upcoming games.by Anoop Gantayat May 4, 2005 - Producer Tetsuya Nomura is one of Square Enix's most respected producers, having great influence over many of the company's most highly anticipated titles. The latest issue of Japanese publication Dori Maga features a short interview with Nomura, touching upon Kingdom Hearts II and the Final Fantasy VII series.

The main focus of the interview is Kingdom Hearts II. Recently, Square Enix opened up an official Japanese website for the game following months of silence. This was followed by feature articles posted in Japan's largest game publications. Could a release date at last be nearing for the sequel?Nomura reveals that yes, a release is indeed approaching. "The announcement of Kingdom Hearts II was actually too early," Nomura states in response to a question about the lack of information on the game. "It's not that delayed development has caused a delay in the release of the game. Recently, a release period has come into sight, and so we've started to release information."

Commenting on the current state of the game, Nomura reveals that the scenario is now complete. Voice recording has also finished, save for some fine tuning. The title isn't 100% complete, though, with Nomura revealing, "We're currently finishing up the main story -- the scenario featuring Sora and the black coated characters."

You may be bummed about the wait for Kingdom Hearts II, but based on Nomura's comments, there's a lot to look forward to. Asked about how much volume we can expect from the sequel, he responds, "Quite a bit. The volume of the story alone is about 2.5 times that of the original."

There's also quite a bit going into the animation data for the game. "For instance," explains Nomura, "when in Brave Form with red clothing and when in standard form with black clothing, the motion is completely different. This is, of course, true when fighting, but also when running. The motion for walking is about all that's shared. Of course, there are other forms besides black and red."

Nomura suggests, perhaps jokingly, that the game may actually take up more than one DVD.

Outside of these Kingdom Hearts II comments, Nomura offers an update on his other projects. First, regarding the mobile title Before Crisis: Final Fantasy VII, he says, "We plan to increase the player characters by two. The story is heating up as the climax approaches, so please stick with us for a bit more."

Silencing recent worries about the state of the PSP's Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII, he manages a few comments on the game. "I've drawn the art," he says with a laugh. "We're planning an interesting, previously unseen gameplay system. We announced [Crisis Core] as an action RPG, but I think it will end up as something that exceeds everyone's expectations. I personally want to get my hands on it quickly."

All has gone quiet on Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII since its unveiling for the PS2 at last year's Tokyo Game Show. "We should be able to release it earlier than most expect," assures Nomura. "It's a title that's been surrounded by a number of secrets until now, but at E3 you'll be able to get a taste of it and I think you'll be even more excited. For this game, I'm mainly doing character designs. The game is strongly influenced by Yoshinori Kitase (its producer).

Finally, Nomura offers a bit on the perpetually delayed DVD/UMD movie release, Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children: "We've kept you waiting, but we should be able to announce a number of things soon. Please look forward to it."

All the games (and media products) mentioned by Nomura should make a showing in some form at E3. We'll fill you in on what we learn next week or the week after.[/quote29]

May 10, 2005 - A whopping sixteen Final Fantasy soundtracks will be made available via iTunes. This is the first time any of the soundtracks from the acclaimed videogame series will be sold in the United States, and the first time original game soundtracks will be available on the iTunes Music Store.

To meet the demand, iTunes has developed a dedicated Final Fantasy page that will feature music from Final Fantasy I through XI, as well as music from Dear Friends, and two Black Mages albums.

"I am thrilled that our soundtracks will finally be available to all the supportive American fans who have enjoyed our music over the years," said series composer Nobuo Uematsu. [/quote29]

so there you have it... a HUGE amount of news about the final fantasy series, inparticular FFVII. i'm sure this thread will probably die soon, but i felt the need to put all the info in one spot so any fans out there know what's going on... feel free to discuss anything final fantasy here... but particulary ffvii.

i'm a huge ff fan, inparticular ffvii, which is still my favourite game of all time, and i voted this way on the recent palgn top 100 survey.

i downloaded ffvii advent children, when it was released in japan. i was incredibly impressed, and i'll definately be buying it on on dvd and umd.

what's driving me absolutely crazy is the E3 PS3 FFVII video. they remade the opening scene to ffvii, and it looked amazing. this has sparked much speculation about a ps3 remake, which i would love. i'm just praying they end up doing it.

They have the english sub version at hobby japan in melb, I saw it the other day, and the guy working there said he would have an english language version by the end of the month.

That's all I am running on... I am interested in checking it out, but I am not (yet) a huge FF fan as I haven't seen/played that much of it. Actually my cousin was enquiring about it, I just overheard.

[quote:4052bab889="sherry is alive"]
speaking of which, i wanna release date for FFXII :evil:[/quote:4052bab889]

I Know, Ive Only Been Waiting Since 2004, But From what I can Gather The News On It Started as Early as 2000-2001, So I Feel Sorry for those who've been Waiting Since Then. (We Had X,X-2 And other stuff Between Then, But Sheesh; Ive Never seen Such Perpetual Delays on a Game. At Least its out in Japan Now.)

Does anyone have a decent Walkthrough for FFVII? I have finally decided to cheat.

Was Dirge of Cerberus ever released here? I'm guessing Dirge is some sort of weapon and Cerberus is a GF?

[imgc2]http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e221/luckyh2whoa/sigmerc.jpg[/imgc2][bc2][size=10c2]"I came here by my own free will... or so I thought. The truth is I am afraid of myself... there is a part of me I don't understand... there's something inside of me, a person who is not really me."[/sizec2][/bc2]

Ok, So Finally This Game Is Released In Australia (22nd Feb 07), After Many, MANY Delays, & I Picked It Up Today.

It Had Better Be Good I Tell You, I Was Actually Starting to Look Forward To FF13 More Because of the Delays of 12, Haha.

Anyone Else Currently Playing? First Impressions Is Great Work on The FMV's From the Get Go (They Should Be, The Time/Effort They Put Into It. )

The New Battle System Is Ok, Will Take Some Time Getting Used to Though, You Have to Issue Attacks Then Dodge The Enemies Till You can get Close Enough to Strike.

The New Levelling Up System - The 'Licence System' Looks Good Too; Kinda Like the Sphere Grid of FF10 (Which I Loved) But A Big Improvement Is That You can Update & Advance All Over & Different Points of the Licence Board, Instead of being Limited to Where you are at a Specific Point & the Abilities Available on that Section.

[quote:95f6189680="CTUAffillate"]Ok, So Finally This Game Is Released In Australia (22nd Feb 07), After Many, MANY Delays, & I Picked It Up Today....
Anyone Else Currently Playing? ....[/quote:95f6189680]

Will be cracking it open this weekend actually. 8) Can see many, many hours, days, months passing with this game. :shifty: :wink:

The graphics look absolutely awesome... let alone what the gameplay will most likely be like. :P